Camille's Blog

Asylum for Lima!

cherohalarain — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:07:26 +0000

When I first heard about “the zebra on the freeway” in Atlanta (I was listening to Sean Hannity when a “breaking news” segment interrupted the show), I immediately felt sick to my stomach. It was a harsh reminder of the problems with using animals for human entertainment–an even harsher reminder of the enormous cruelty that exists in circuses every day. When I worked in downtown Atlanta, I used to see the elephants shackled out in a parking lot near CNN Center. They looked broken. Defeated. I imagine what it must be like to be forced to dance and wear ridiculous costumes out of fear of torture, to be whipped regularly, to be chained to another group of my fellow species, to travel in hot, dark, sickening circus trains as a regular part of life, to have my child ripped away from me after her birth. Hell is what it is.

If we catch anyone treating human beings in such a manner, we arrest them and put them in jail for the rest of their lives. The perpetrator becomes a hated outcast from society. We talk about how cruel they are and wonder how any human being can possibly be so horrible. When animals are treated that way, we laugh and cheer, munching on peanuts and cotton candy. It is the Greatest Show on Earth.

As an immigration attorney, I sat through hundreds of hearings where I listened to people from other countries talk about how they had been cruelly treated and they had come to the United States for protection. Many of them were granted asylum in the United States and were allowed to stay here so they would not have to return to a life of suffering. Although I agreed that some of those people deserved asylum, none of the stories I ever heard in court were as bad as what those animals endure. And we continue to laugh and cheer at the suffering.

When Lima escaped from that nightmare world, when he finally broke free, we corralled him and sent him right back. That zebra deserves asylum–a reprieve from his agony. Think of Marty the zebra. Would you choose to chain him up and force him to perform unnatural acts? How cruel is that?

Lima deserves his freedom.

Zebras do not belong on interstates, and they don’t belong in circuses.

Set Lima Free!

Annabel Lee

cherohalarain — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:54:19 +0000

This is my FIRST iMovie! Check it out!

There is something magical about viewing something that you have created from scratch. When I first watched this little movie, I felt a rush of euphoria. Not because I was glad it was over, but because I reveled in the feeling of having created something tangible on my own. What started with a simple idea developed into a 4 1/2 minute finished piece, complete with screenshots, music, and narration. I spent over 20 hours creating this film that lasts less than five minutes. Yet, I don’t feel like the the time was wasted. I am happy with my little visual story. For one brief moment after I first watched my digital movie, I wished I had gone into film production. What an amazing feeling it must be to watch your own feature film on the big screen!

I suppose I will never be the next Steven Spielberg, but I will be making more iMovies. There is something special about creating a product. My mind is full of ideas for future products. Now, what I am I going to create next?

Georgia Performance Standards

cherohalarain — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:43:14 +0000

In the six months I have been working toward my Master’s Degree in teaching secondary English, I have heard the term “performance standards” no less than forty-five times. Today, I visited the website that explains these notorious “performance standards” for the state of Georgia. You can visit it here.

I am actually surprised that I am not completely turned-off by these standards. I like that they are broad enough to allow creativity on the teacher’s part, which is especially important in English classrooms. They don’t list specific works of literature as required reading, and they don’t specify the types of writing assignments that must be completed. I hope that continues to be the case.

There is an extensive list of available videos related to English courses that seems like it would be quite useful. I have not had a chance to watch any of those videos, so I can’t speak to their quality, but it is at least a start to have some videos available. The site seems to have some teaching resources available, but I did not see any relating directly to teaching English. The site seems to have some good things available to teachers, and I would recommend that any teacher take the time to look at some of those resources. However, it would be nice if the site would offer more resources in particular subject areas- not for teachers to use as “scripture,” but simply to provide ideas and useful information.

Likewise, the site could provide many more “sample tasks” relating to the particular performance standard mentioned. The tasks listed seem effective, but it would be great to see more examples about how to teach that particular concept in the classroom.

Although I don’t think the standards are poorly written, I see a risk of teachers becoming “bogged down” by the standards. Like most anything else, the implementation of the rules can be far more important than the rules themselves. I hope that the state, the school systems, and the teachers will not stifle creativity and imagination in pursuit of “The Standards.”

CML MediaLit Kit (Trademark!!!!!)

cherohalarain — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:18:25 +0000

I just read “Literacy for the 21st Century” by Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls. You can read it here. When I first began reading, I really liked what the piece had to say. I agree with the idea that we should not be teaching kids to memorize facts, as there is a wealth of factual information at our fingertips (when we have Internet access, that is). It is true that literacy should be understood to be mean so much more than simply interpreting symbols on a page. I like the idea that teachers need to be focusing on helping students learn to interpret information rather than memorize it. That being said, I am not sure that is really a new concept. There a lot of people who have understood (and been teaching) for years that the truly important skill is processing information. However, now that we are surrounded by technology, there is more support for the idea. It is also more important that our schools adapt to meet the changing world.

After I got several pages into the piece, I felt my eyes begin shifting comically side to side, thinking to myself, “Uh, is this some kind of test? Are we supposed to recognize this piece for the media message that it is? Are we looking at an advertisement that is framed as an educational/informational text?” On page 23, they discuss the CML’s “Five Core Concepts,” and I have to wonder if they don’t all apply here. I couldn’t help but notice the appeal to ethos, with all of the “Wow this product is fantastic” quotes thrown in randomly, and I certainly couldn’t miss the bold black letters and the trademark symbol every time the words “CML MediaLit Kit” appeared. I also noticed that it said books are (or will be) available for purchase. I was laughing to myself because I was reading a piece about analyzing how texts are used to sell someone something when the work itself seems geared to doing precisely that. I think we could pretty easily analyze this piece just as it urges us to analyze other media messages.

Most of what is in this piece seems fairly common sense to me. From the questions we should ask when analyzing media messages to the core concepts, it does not seem like we should need a specific guide to help us teach this. The basic idea is very important. We do need to be teaching how to analyze media messages. However, I can’t say that I really learned much from reading this rather lengthy article. Unless I am just ultra-savvy in the media-interpreting department, I think most of this article conveys the obvious and could have been severely condensed and still provided the necessary information.

The one thing I did find novel and interesting was the idea of not asking “Why.” I have always been been taught to ask why, but I think that the article’s explanation of why not to ask why is quite compelling. They may be on to something here.

Although I feel like I just read a big advertisement, I am sold on helping my students to become media-literate. I just hope I or the school where I teach does not have to buy a bunch of expensive texts or equipment in order for me to do so.

Wikipedia for All

cherohalarain — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:08:48 +0000

So we just looked up the term “geranium” in an antiquated, outdated, boring old encylopedia. We looked up the same term on Britannica.com and on Wikipedia.com. Man, what a difference. The boring old encylopedia (from 1999) had three paragraphs about the geranium. It had one black and white photo. The information seemed very scientific and uninteresting. Wikipedia had many beautiful pictures of geraniums and contained so many hyperlinks that I could probably spend several hours reading all of the information about geraniums and anything related to geraniums. I could read about a particular species of geranium, how to grow geraniums, or how to use them for medicinal purposes- all at the click of a button. No more licking fingers to flip through crinkly old pages and singing the ABC song in my head to determine whether r comes before t. I just had to type in the word into the search box and Voila! There was a wealth of information on the geranium.

I wasn’t very impressed with Britannica.com, either. It is not as user friendly as Wikipedia.com. It is riddled with advertisements. I was constantly interrupted by pop-ups requesting that I pay for a “premium membership.” If I had not already read about geraniums on Wikipedia, I would not have know which particular section of geraniums to read about on this site (the genus geranium or the common name geranium?). Not interested in a premium membership. Why would I be? There is much more free information on Wikipedia.

Maybe Wikipedia is not 100% correct all the time. What is? But it is a great place to start. And best of all- it is not work. It is fun. It is entertaining. It is educational. What better way to get kids (or adults, for that matter) engaged in learning?

Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All

cherohalarain — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:11:10 +0000

This little post is about the fourth chapter in Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I found this chapter a little more informative and interesting than chapters 2 and 3. I am particularly interested in using wikis in my classroom, as I think they will engage the students and motivate contributions to the class. I am concerned about the possible fees involved, however. I saw that Wikispaces.com wants to give away 100,000 free wikis to educators, which implies that these things usually cost money. I fear that by the time I am actually eligible to get a wiki space as an educator that there will be some sort of prohibitive cost (I have no idea how much they would cost if I don’t get one of the free ones). My husband says that wikis are free, so I am a little confused about this. He says “The software is free- you just have to put it somewhere.” I imagine I will understand this better at some point. Do educators always have a free place to put it? As I am typing this post, my husband says, “Oh, I see. Wikispaces is giving away free ‘Premium Packages’ to educators. You pay to get rid of the advertisements.” I am sure I will learn more about this later.

I also think Richardson brings up an interesting point when he says that Wikipedia works because there are far more people who want to make it accurate than those who want to mess it up. If the whole idea of Wikipedia had been initially presented to me, I would have probably said that it would never work precisely because of the people who would want to vandalize it. I am glad that it seems to be working and that there are so many people who want to make it good. I hope that this same principal would apply with school wikis, and I think that being able to track exactly who posts what and when will help to cut back on problems (which is not possible with Wikipedia, from what I understand).

I find it fascinating that South Africa already has its entire national curriculum on a wiki. That is fantastic. We need to get with the program (even if we don’t have a national curriculum yet, states could do this just as well)!

Have you ever seen anything so cute?

cherohalarain — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:21:46 +0000

Weblogs: Get Started!

cherohalarain — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:56:45 +0000

So hopefully this third chapter of Richardson’s book is more informative…..

I find it interesting that Richardson encourages teachers to use their real identities while blogging. I understand that where teachers are using blogs in classrooms they can’t be anonymous, but I wonder just how much personal information we should share on these blogs where we will be identified. Should we, as teachers, share political opinions? Religious beliefs? Family information?

I can imagine that the assessment part of the blogs will be tough. My initial reaction would be to grade based primarily on participation, but I know that this can also lead to minimal effort and thought put into the blogs (particularly where the students believe that the teacher is simply counting posts as opposed to reading and considering the posts).

Adequate tech support. Hmmm. I have never felt that I have had adequate tech support at any job where I have worked. I would be surprised if many public schools could afford good tech support. In my experience, there are never enough tech guys to handle all of the problems that arise. Oh, how I wish we could use our own computers!

Why would most bloggers choose not to edit their own posts? I don’t understand.

I wonder why we are not using Blogger in this class?

Well this chapter was more informative, though I think I learned primarily what I already did in class today. I do look forward to playing around with my blog.

Weblogs: Pedagogy and Practice

cherohalarain — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:14:09 +0000

So I am reading the second chapter of Will Richardson’s book entitled Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. It begins as a slow read, championing the benefits of using technology in the classroom. Of coure, I am very excited about using technology in the classroom, but I don’t really need to read all of the hype. We’ve seen the preview- let’s get to the feature already! I know weblogs are great. Now just explain to me what they are and how I can use them.

I look forward to using blogs for my classes, but it seems like the initial setup will involve a great deal of time. I think in the long run that having a blog for all of my classes will be fun and efficient, but I fear the creation of blogs for several different classes. I will spend hours and hours trying to make my pages look great and be full of interesting content, ignoring other duties and responsibilities. I know. I’ve seen me do it. There are only so many hours in the day!

So according to Richardson, what I did today in class is not blogging because I did not provide links? Huh? I understand that blogging is not the mere recitation of facts, but do I really need evidence for my personal thoughts? Does blogging always have to be based on someone else’s writing? This does not seem like a fair analysis….

Okay- more reading on how great blogs are……

Just finished the chapter. I can’t say I really learned a lot from this chapter. It was mostly cheering and stating the obvious (check the source, don’t believe everything you read, etc.).

Hopefully I will learn more in the next chapter.

Why I play the Sims 3

cherohalarain — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:00:57 +0000

It is 11 pm. My husband stalks up from the basement and into the living room, where I sit with a blanket on my lap, protecting my skin from the heat of the laptop with its fans running at full power. I don’t look at him, but I can feel him rolling his eyes and making his best “My wife is out of her mind” expression. Realizing that I am refusing to react to his attempt at making me feel guilty, he sighs and mumbles that he is going to bed. I mumble something back, and return to my game.

But it’s not really a game. Not to me. Of course, it is immensely entertaining and makes the time fly at hypersonic speeds, but it is more than that. This is my creative outlet. As I grow older, I am realizing that life can be quite mundane. Particularly when one is trying to maintain a house, raise a child, keep a job, and just generally make the proverbial ends meet. I need something to do that stimulates my mind. Something that I can think about, if only for a few minutes (or a few hours, according to my husband) that takes my mind off of the stresses and responsibilities of everyday life.

With The Sims 3, I create a new world. I create characters and costumes and houses and neighborhoods. But most of all, I create stories. I make my little Sims get married, have children, have affairs, become great writers, become great losers, or grow amazing gardens. Anything I want. These are my little people. I care about them. I create them and I kill them. I fall in love with them. It is like being an author, except there is no paper and lots of visual stimulation. In fact, I may even write a book about the stories that I have created with this game.

Not everyone will understand why I have such a connection with this game. But at least, perhaps, they will understand that we all need an escape from our ordinary lives. My husband has his motorcycle. My father has his garden. My sister has her theater activities. And I, well, I have the Sims 3. So the next time that I am talking about my daughter and my husband smirks and asks whether I am talking about my REAL daughter or my SIM daughter, I will simply smile at him and give him a kiss on the cheek. I don’t understand how one gets so much enjoyment out of riding a motorcycle, but I do understand the need for that escape. I have tried to explain to him that my game is my motorcycle. Now I am off to ride.